In Memoriam, 2015 edition

Writing Simon's birthday posts is always bittersweet, for two reasons. One, he's gone from this life now. Two, the death tribute must be written the very next day.

It's also always hard to know what to say. There isn't a lot of information out there on Simon the person; much of what we know comes from bits and pieces of biographical information (some of which may or may not be entirely correct), a brief interview with Jack Grinnage on our website, and the three or four articles that Crystal and I have discovered over the years. What we know is very positive, and Crystal highlighted some of her discoveries and conclusions in her birthday tribute yesterday.

We would love for someone who actually knew Simon to come forward and bring more information so that we could learn more about this highly talented man and share it with our readers. We would also love for more Simon performances to become available, especially rare gems such as Ready for the People, in which he had a starring role. We would find it epic to witness Simon's violin playing or one of his stage roles. And we would be ecstatic for Simon to be more widely recognized and remembered to the point of even getting a book written about him and perhaps a movie.

Of course, with character actors such things rarely happen. They are remembered fondly, but oftentimes the viewers don't place the name with the person. With the Internet age, hopefully that doesn't happen as much now. But character actors are not the ones who get tributes, biopics, biographies, etc. written about them, except in very rare cases. This is more of a shame than ever since character actors are so incredibly talented that they slip into their parts so totally and completely that they are believable as everything from a callous outlaw to an honest military man. In many cases, they are every bit as talented as the headlining stars, and sometimes even moreso.

This is certainly the case with Simon. Of course, with his humble and unassuming nature, he was probably content to never be in the limelight enough to actually win awards, no matter how deserved. But we still wish he had. Performances such as Frank Epstein on Hawaii 5-O and Captain Beechum on The Twilight Zone are so completely opposite each other yet both are supremely powerful. Frank is a bitter and angry man, and it's hard to fault him for that, after the torture he went through that ruined his life and his friend's apparent betrayal to their captors. Captain Beechum is a stern and no-nonsense commander, but very compassionate and concerned for his men's welfare and also that of strangers he's never seen. Both try to do the right thing throughout their episodes and both are, in the end, good and upright.

Whether aligned with good or ill, Simon's characters were so very human ninety-nine percent of the time. And even the few that did not appear to show any redeeming qualities whatsoever were magnificently played. After all, for such a good person to portray someone as evil as Mel Barnes takes incredible talent.

Crystal and I have a new Simon project this year: a branch of the fansite on Tumblr, where we post weekly pictures and GIFsets and occasionally other material as well. This week it's my turn to do the pictorial tribute and it falls right on the anniversary of Simon's death. I chose to do the tribute on Captain Beechum. http://simonoaklandtribute.tumblr.com/post/127857615598/simon-and-mike-kellin-on-the-twilight-zone

It's hard to believe that this year marks 32 years since Simon left us. But we will continue to remember and celebrate him, and know that the countless people who appreciate Simon's amazing talents are enjoying his performances right along with us.

Even if some of them still haven't put a name to his face.

~Lucky_Ladybug

Happy Birthday, Simon!

And so we now approach another end of August and another year of tribute to an amazing character actor. If Simon were alive today, he would be 99 years old. It’s so strange to think of how long ago it was that he came to this world, and so sad that he left it so soon.

It has been getting difficult to find available things with Simon that we haven’t seen before. So many of his performances are sadly scarce. But I have managed to turn up a few things: two of his Adventures in Paradise episodes and his Stoney Burke episode, Image of Glory.

The two Paradise episodes both feature him as the villain. In one, he does his usual trick of making the character seem human and not just an out-and-out evildoer. In the other, he plays the more rare cold-blooded killer. He has only played a handful of those, of which I’m glad, as I don’t like to see him play characters that terrible. On the other hand, however, I find those performances very impressive, just as I do all of his performances. Bonanza’s Mel Barnes, as repulsive as he is, remains a character whose episode I like to rewatch.

The Stoney Burke character, Sam Hagen, is a good guy, a father dreaming of his son being a rodeo star and unknowingly putting pressure on him to succeed. The son even tries to go into a rodeo event with a badly hurt leg because of not wanting to disappoint his father. Stoney Burke is aware of the leg problem due to encountering the son at the doctor’s office, and he tries to tell Sam what’s going on when it becomes obvious the boy is seriously endangering his health. Although at first Sam doesn’t believe it, he becomes horrified and panicked when he hears the boy going into the ring. He rushes to stop him. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too late and the boy is injured. We don’t know his final fate, but Stoney says that with his family rallying around him, he should be just fine.

Simon delivers a beautiful, heartfelt performance. The character is so believable and never over-the-top in his dreams of his son’s success and his sadness over his own failures. His love for his son shines through at all times and the climatic scene where he rushes to stop the boy is so poignant and powerful. He definitely ranks with my favorite of Simon’s characters.

I’ve also been reviewing some of my other favorite performances of his, most notably Frank Epstein from the Hawaii 5-O episode The Reunion. I remember Crystal spoke about that one at length, but I don’t recall if either of us came onboard to announce that we finally had learned that there was a bit more to the episode than what Netflix’s Streaming was willing to show us. (I really hope they fixed that preposterous error!) The Streaming episode cut off right when Epstein was gripping the gun and forced to make a choice between killing the man who had made him and his friends suffer 25 years ago and had devised a scheme to make them suffer anew in the present, or letting him live.

When the episode finally came on MeTV and I recorded it, I saw the minute or so that had been left out. Frank finally made the choice to let the man live. As Steve McGarrett put it, “He couldn’t break you 25 years ago. Are you going to let him break you now?” Frank lowered the gun and his wretched enemy said to him and Steve, “I have misjudged you. I have misjudged both of you.” Steve looked to Frank, who gave a nod, and turned to limp away on his prosthetic legs. It’s an extremely powerful scene and I am very upset that Netflix Streaming wasn’t showing it! It wasn’t just an error on my computer, since Crystal encountered the same thing when she watched it later.

While watching that episode with my mom the other night, she commented that Simon should have won an award for his performance in that episode. I thoroughly agree.

Sadly, as far as I know, Simon never did win an award for any performance. (If anyone knows otherwise, please let us know!) It is definitely a grave oversight for such an amazing, talented man. But considering Simon’s humility and how he often kept to himself, perhaps in some way it isn’t surprising. It would have been wonderful to see his talents recognized with an Oscar, Emmy, or Tony, but perhaps he was perfectly happy with his talents being recognized and appreciated just by the fans who watched him nearly every week.

As always, I am happy to count myself among those fans and look forward to experiencing more Simon performances, both ones I’ve seen and ones that are new to me.

And I am anxiously waiting for the premiere of Baa Baa Black Sheep on MeTV September 7^th! It’s so exciting that on this, the 99^th anniversary of Simon’s birth, one of the series featuring him in a starring role will be airing anew on television. And MeTV reaches such a high number of the homes across America that thousands of others will be able to experience this right along with me.

Also as always, the great Simon Oakland lives on, in his performances and in the hearts of those who love him.

Happy Birthday, Simon.

~Lucky Ladybug

Antagonists, Villains, and Anti-Heroes, Oh My!

As Lucky Ladybug mentioned in her previous entry, she and I happened upon a few archived news articles about Simon that helped us understand a bit more about him.  We already knew before that he was an extremely talented actor who could fit in flawlessly in any genre, taking on roles of different kinds.  We also already knew that he was a Renaissance man---an actor of the screen, of the stage, and also a musician, as well.  And we also knew that with a filmography covering decades of media and bringing to life several vibrant characters (featuring an impressive group of heroes, anti-heroes, and villains), there’s guaranteed to be something in Simon’s credits to please even the pickiest TV or movie watcher, if not absolutely enamor them altogether.

I have mentioned in previous posts about several of Simon’s complex characters, including ones that you couldn’t help but sympathize with a little bit, even if they were in the wrong.  I normally don’t think too much of villain or anti-hero characters, yet I found myself curious about William Poole from Bonanza, siding with and worrying for Frank Epstein in Hawaii Five-O, laughing at Nick from Follow That Dream, crying for Adam Howard in The Big Valley, pitying Howard Walters in Perry Mason, and being intrigued by Lt. Schrank in West Side Story. 

Even someone like Stawski from The Sand Pebbles---a man who, at times, was an utter brute and, if he were real, would’ve gotten a slap upside the face if he ever crossed paths with me---managed to have me captivated during the times he wasn’t making me cringe.  My feelings of intrigue and curiosity for these villains and/or anti-heroes puzzled me initially, especially in the case of Stawski, who was a character that, normally, I would’ve detested immensely at his worst.  But I found that I couldn’t hate him; he did have his good moments, plus there was the fact that I was able to see past the brutishness of the character and appreciate Simon’s acting ability.  I decided not to overthink and try to analyze why I didn’t hate Stawski, so I just shrugged it off.

After Lucky Ladybug and I made our article archive discovery, we were both thrilled to find an article where Simon described how he brought his antagonistic characters to life---that he tried to make them as multifaceted as possible and showcase their good points.  And, suddenly, the lightbulb went off in my head and I realized that was why I couldn’t find it in me to hate Stawski; Stawski did have his good moments, and that definitely factored into my accepting the character.

It’s why I couldn’t bring myself to hate Adam Howard in The Big Valley, either.  Every fiber of my being was ready to loathe Adam for some of the things he had done.  But then he just had to launch into a heartfelt speech that had me in tears, and I couldn’t hate him anymore than I could Stawski.

It’s why I sided with Frank Epstein in Hawaii Five-O, believing him when there was (initially) no evidence to otherwise, despite his short temper and sharp tongue, and why I was so worried when it became clear he was heading for a trap.

It’s also why I find myself intrigued by Lt. Schrank, whose abrasive words I would normally find repulsive and would want nothing more to do with him---but then it seems that his words are just a product of his own frustrations and that he might not even mean them.  It doesn’t excuse him, but it opens up another way to look at his character.

For a while, before I read that article, I was initially worried about myself because of my inability to detest these antagonistic characters that I normally would detest (Frank Epstein is not included among these---he was vindicated, as the Hawaii Five-O episode later revealed, which earned from me a sigh of relief and an “I knew it…”).  Was I so charmed by Simon that I was letting my personal standards slip in regards to some of those nastier characters?  I didn’t want to think so, and after reading that article, I realized that I hadn’t; it was Simon’s intent to give those antagonistic characters another side to them and make them difficult to loathe.  In the article, he referred to it as a “trick.”  Well, it looks as though I’ve fallen for that trick, and on more than one occasion, yet!

And you know what?  I don’t mind at all.

~Crystal Rose

The Flaws of Fictional Characters, and Why We Love Them

Try as we might to attain perfection in everything we do, the truth of the matter is that we have our flaws.  Perhaps this is why when we see flaws in fictional characters, it can end up making us pity or even adore them.  Simon Oakland has played countless characters during his time as an actor; no single character, whether good or bad, is without flaws.  These flaws are essential to their characterization.

For Simon’s villain characters, the flaws are pretty easy to see: Mel Barnes’ general nastiness, William Poole’s madness, Seth Tabor’s greed, Bolivar Jagger’s ingratitude, Mandee’s treacherous nature, Nick’s scheming and so on.  Of course, these flaws don’t make these characters endearing in anyway, but Nick’s sheer misfortune in how spectacularly his plans fail make him a laughable villain, at best.

Then there are the characters who are not quite villains, but aren’t exactly getting along with the main characters, either.  It is these characters’ flaws who actually do allow them to earn some pity, despite their standing.  Sancho Fernandez and Frank Epstein are both bitter, vengeful men, yet after the viewer realizes that their bitterness is not unfounded, the viewer nonetheless ends up siding with them, or, at the very least, giving them their pity.  Vern St. Cloud, for all his boisterousness and loud mouth, one can’t help but pity how his insistence to act like a tough guy sometimes get him into trouble.  And Lt. Schrank, despite saying a great deal of nasty things, earns a bit of pity after one takes a step back and realizes how jaded he has become after years of trying—and failing—to get rival street gangs to stop their fighting.

And yes, even the characters who are good guys all around have their flaws.  Alonzo Galezio’s flaw may be that he’s just too nice for his own good; he still longs and hopes that Donna Fuller will somehow see past his winemaking occupation and accept him for what he is, despite being insulted and verbally brought down by her.  And even after her mob wrecks his personal property and, in doing so, his potential livelihood, he can’t bring himself to press charges and instead tries to pick up the pieces and move on.  General Moore, despite being the tough-but-fair commanding officer of the Marines at Esprito Marcos, is revealed to put his instincts as a father first when he makes a somewhat unprofessional—albeit understandable—attempt to transfer his Navy nurse daughter to a safer place (this attempt fails upon her reminding him that he is obligated not to do so).  And Tony Vincenzo is an interesting mix of a temper to be reckoned with plus a person too nice for his own good; while a good portion of his dialogues with Carl Kolchak are often at a considerably loud volume, the truth of the matter is that he would do anything to help his sometimes-unfortunate employee, even at the risk of his own job security (as The Night Strangler movie showed).  And all of those threats to fire Carl?  All talk, and nothing more.  And Carl knows it.

It is important for fictional characters to have believable flaws; it is these flaws that make them more real and easier to relate to, particularly regarding the non-villain characters.  It makes them more human (even the characters who aren’t human, such as the Empyrian, who acknowledges his own mistakes after the humans he shanghais prove his mindset wrong).  And it’s another way that Simon, as an actor, reached out to us to remind us of what makes us human ourselves: the fact that we’re not perfect… and how that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, as long as we’re inherently good people.

~Crystal Rose

Teardrops: the Tear-Jerking Roles of Simon Oakland

A good actor is one who is able to instill a variety of emotions in those who see his work.  Simon Oakland definitely fits that description; he brought to life so many characters that evoked adoration, anger, shock, laughter, and tears.

A good tear-jerking role can be a wonderful catharsis for the viewer, and I have been moved to tears by some of Simon’s roles.  I mentioned in an earlier entry about Adam Howard, from “The Secret” episode of The Big Valley.  It was Adam’s heartfelt and heartbreaking speech where he lamented about his dream of having a son being all a lie—as he was certain that the son he had been raising wasn’t his—that made me feel for him and cry for him, despite whatever cruelties he was doing.  The interaction with the child in question was also very tear-jerking; Adam genuinely cares for the child, even despite all of his doubts that he is not the boy’s real father.  Adam himself seems torn up about it, too, his voice cracking up when the boy presents him with a hand-made wallet.

Two more of Simon’s tear-jerking roles can be found in two separate episodes of Hawaii Five-O: “Strangers in Our Own Land” and “The Reunion.”  In the former, Simon’s character, Benny Kalua, seems absolutely broken and devastated upon hearing about the death of a friend with whom he had a love-hate relationship. Though we find out later that he has things to hide, one cannot help but feel for him initially.  And one can’t help but feel even more for his character in “The Reunion,” Frank Epstein.  Frank is a veteran of the Second World War, who had been interred in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp with two other companions.  Tortured by the cruel and calculating commandant, Frank eventually lost his leg before it was all over.  Bitter and vengeful after all of these years, Frank is shocked and enraged to see the very same commandant in Hawaii, though the man insists he is mistaken.  Eventually, though, it’s revealed that Frank was right, and that the commandant—still as cruel and calculating as ever—has led him right into a trap.  Thankfully, he’s able to hold his own against the commandant until Steve and Danny arrive, but the commandant taunts Frank, hoping to get him to kill him while Steve is desperately trying to convince him not to.  As the commandant cruelly reminds Frank of all he had inflicted upon him, poor Frank can do little more than stare into his worst enemy’s face and blink back tears of rage—and the viewers can do little more than wish they could help him.  Alas, the version of this episode I saw cuts off before we see what Frank’s final decision was (and if anyone reading this happens to know what that is, by all means, please tell me!).

But, by far, my favorite of Simon’s tear-jerking roles was the Wagon Train episode, “The Donna Fuller Story.”  Simon plays what must be one of the most adorable roles of his career: Alonzo Galezio, a cheerful and animated winemaker from Sicily, looking to make a fresh start in the United States, bringing barrels of his best wine and grape plants.  He falls head-over-heels for Donna Fuller, a prim and proper widow, who happens to be the head of a group of ladies determined to see the consumption of alcohol eradicated.  Initially, Alonzo is unaware of her stance on this, and she is unaware of his career, and she is initially attracted to him.  However, once she finds out that he is a winemaker, she drops him cold, and you can see the poor man’s heart just shattering to pieces, unable to fathom why she does this.  Even after she reveals her reasons, he desperately tries to get her to see that he is a good man, even if he does make wine, but she will hear none of it.  And then, it gets worse; in her group’s crusade to eradicate all alcohol on the wagon train, they end up getting to and destroying all of the barrels of wine that Alonzo had brought, and a good number of the grape plants.  Simon plays the role with such believability as Alonzo breaks down and narrates his tale of how being terrorized by the mafia had forced him to flee to America, and now he finds himself ruined again at the hands of a mob, his dreams all but shattered.  By the end of it, you just want to hug him and tell him that it’ll somehow be okay (and, thankfully, it is).

It’s just another testament to how powerful an actor Simon was—that a young lady such as myself can cry for an angry and bitter man or an adorable winemaker whose world has been turned upside-down.  But they are good tears, most definitely, each one an appreciation of an actor who was the master of his craft.

~Crystal Rose